The Federal High Court sitting in Yenagoa on Thursday, adjourned a suit seeking to halt the renewal of Oil Mining Lease (OML) 29 instituted by Nembe communities in Bayelsa.
The lease will expire on June 30, while the operator of the oilfields had commenced renewal formalities with the payment of 82 million dollars to the Department of Petroleum Resources.
Justice Awogboro Abimbola, fixed the date, following an application by Lead Counsel to the Plaintiffs, Mr Iniruo Wills, who informed the court that the communities were making progress for an out of court settlement.
The plaintiffs are Ikaonaworio Eferebo-Igoma, Iyerite Chiefson Awululu-Atubu, Ayebaesin Edoghotu-Omoh, Markson Amaegbe-Orutari, B.C. Benwari-Yousuo and Doibo Evans representing OML 29 host communities.
The defendants are Attorney-General of the Federation, Minister of Petroleum Resources, Federal Ministry of Environment and Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria.
Others are Aiteo Exploration and Production Ltd, Attorney-General of Bayelsa State and The Deeds Registrar, Bayelsa State Ministry of Lands.
Earluer, Wills said that the Plaintiffs would also use the window of the adjournment to study the applications for more communities to be joined in the matter.
“Between March and now, we have made some progress to settle out of court and we will require short adjournment to be able to update the court on the outcome of ongoing talks among the parties.
“We have also been served with applications by several groups seeking to be joined in the suit, the adjournment will enable us to study them,”Wills said.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Shell Petroleum Development Company in 2015, divested its equity in OML 29 and transferred its interest in the oil block, including NCTL for 1.7 billion dollars to Aiteo.
However, the host community, said the divestment was done “without resolving the untold negative impact of their operations on the people”
